Seattle vs. Cleveland
Game 1 {{Linescore| In the opener on Tuesday afternoon in Seattle, the Indians held the Mariners scoreless.
Bartolo Colón pitched brilliantly, giving up six hits and no runs in eight innings while fanning ten. The highlight for Seattle was the hitting performance of
Ichiro Suzuki, who went 3 for 4 in his playoff debut.
Roberto Alomar doubled off Freddy Garcia to leadoff the fourth, then scored on
Juan Gonzalez's single. A single and walk loaded the bases before back-to-back RBI singles by
Travis Fryman and
Marty Cordova made it 3–0 Indians. In the sixth, three consecutive one-out singles made it 4–0.
Ellis Burks's leadoff home run in the eighth off
Jose Paniagua made it 5–0, the final score.
Game 2 {{Linescore| Seattle scored four runs in the first inning of the Thursday afternoon game with a pair of two-run blasts before an out was recorded;
Mike Cameron to left after a rare walk to
Ichiro Suzuki and
Edgar Martínez to center following a
Bret Boone single.
David Bell added an insurance homer to left in the fifth, and Cleveland starter
Chuck Finley lasted only innings.
Jamie Moyer kept the Indians at bay in the sun and shadows with one run in six-plus innings, and the trio of
Jeff Nelson,
Arthur Rhodes, and
Kazuhiro Sasaki sealed the deal out of the bullpen. The Indians scored their only run in the seventh on a bases-loaded double play from
Marty Cordova off Nelson; the run was charged to Moyer.
Game 3 {{Linescore| The Mariners drew first blood early on after a bases-loaded walk by
John Olerud off
CC Sabathia drove in a run, but Seattle did not score again until the seventh on
Ichiro Suzuki's RBI single with two on. Sabathia pitched six innings while four Indian relieves held the Mariners scoreless over the final three innings. In the bottom of the first, a one-out single by
Omar Vizquel off
Aaron Sele was followed by an RBI double by
Roberto Alomar and RBI single by
Juan González. Next inning, an error and single was followed by Vizquel's two-run triple, both runs unearned. In the third, Seattle reliever
Paul Abbott allowed a leadoff home run to González, then after two strikeouts and two singles,
Einar Diaz drove in a run with a single. A walk loaded the bases before Vizquel's single and Alomar's walk made it 8–1. Abbott pitched a scoreless fourth before allowing a home run to
Kenny Lofton in the fifth.
Jim Thome's leadoff home run in the sixth made it 10–1. After two walks,
John Halama relieved Abbott and allowed an RBI single to
Jolbert Cabrera and sacrifice fly to Lofton. Sele was charged with four runs on five hits in two innings, while Abbott was charged with eight runs on nine hits and five walks in three innings, but the Indians piled on in the eighth.
José Paniagua got two outs, then loaded the bases on a hit-by-pitch and two walks. Vizquel cleared them with a double before consecutive RBI doubles by Alomar and González capped the scoring at 17–2. Up two games to one in this series, the Indians were ready to pull one of the greatest upsets in sports history.
Game 4 {{Linescore| Facing elimination on Sunday afternoon, the Mariners called on
Freddy García to go up against
Bartolo Colón in a Game 1 rematch, both on only three days rest. The first pitch was delayed two hours by rain. In the bottom of the second, García allowed a leadoff home run to
Juan González; Colón pitched six shutout innings, but loaded the bases in the seventh with no outs with a walk, single, and another walk. Pinch hitter
Al Martin grounded to
Jim Thome at first, who threw home for the first out. A sacrifice fly to the left field corner by
David Bell tied the game, then back-to-back RBI singles through the infield to right by
Ichiro Suzuki and
Mark McLemore put the Mariners up 3–1.
Danys Baez relieved Colón and retired
Edgar Martínez with a fielder's choice to shortstop
Omar Vizquel to end the threat. Gonzalez led off the bottom of the seventh with a double to center and advanced to third on Thome's groundout to second.
Jeff Nelson relieved García, and
Ellis Burks' check swing on a high pitch resulted in a strikeout, but the ball went off the top of new catcher
Tom Lampkin's glove to the backstop and Burks was safe at first, but González held at third.
Travis Fryman's groundout glanced off Nelson's glove which disrupted a double play; shortstop McLemore had to adjust and the Mariners got the out at second, but Fryman beat out
Bret Boone's throw to first and González scored.
Arthur Rhodes relieved Nelson and
Wil Cordero flew out deep to left. Seattle got that run back in the eighth: after Boone struck out,
John Olerud singled up the middle, and
Stan Javier grounded a fielder's choice to shortstop.
Mike Cameron's double to center scored Javier easily and Seattle led 4–2; lefthander
Ricardo Rincón replaced Baez and struck out Lampkin on a check swing. Rhodes retired
Einar Díaz and
Kenny Lofton on ground outs to first; Vizquel lined a single to center and advanced on a wild pitch strike in the dirt.
Roberto Alomar flew out, caught by a sprinting Suzuki in right center. In the ninth, Bell lined out to left, Suzuki singled up the middle, and McLemore was caught looking on a slider.
Paul Shuey relieved Rincón to face Martínez, who turned an inside pitch into a home run, high and deep down the left field line, to put the Mariners up 6–2. Boone singled and stole second, but Olerud struck out. Seattle closer
Kazuhiro Sasaki retired the Indians in order: González was caught looking, Thome fanned, and Burks popped up to second to end the game, forcing a deciding Game 5 in Seattle on Monday afternoon.
Game 5 {{Linescore| In a must-win game for both sides on Monday afternoon, Seattle came out on top and advanced to the
ALCS for the third time in their history, and avenged their loss to the Indians in the
1995 ALCS. In the bottom of the second, the Mariners loaded the bases off
Chuck Finley with no outs, as
Edgar Martínez and
John Olerud walked, and
Mike Cameron was hit by a pitch while looking to bunt.
Dan Wilson fanned and
David Bell was caught looking, but
Mark McLemore lined his first pitch to left to score two. He was caught off first and while in a rundown, Cameron broke from third but made the third out at home in a collision with catcher
Einar Díaz. In the top of the third,
Travis Fryman led off with a double to left-center and advanced to third on
Marty Cordova's fly to right. Díaz walked, and
Kenny Lofton's single up the middle scored Fryman.
Omar Vizquel bunted so well it was a single to load the bases with one out. On the first pitch,
Roberto Alomar grounded to third, enabling a
5-4-3 double play; he had also hit into a double play to end Cleveland's first inning. The Mariners threatened in the fifth with two singles and a walk to load the bases with one out, and Finley was relieved by
David Riske;
Bret Boone struck out and Martínez grounded to short for a fielder's choice. Seattle starter
Jamie Moyer got his second win of the series, going six innings with six strikeouts, one walk, and yielding only one run.
Jeff Nelson relieved him in the seventh and retired the side in order, striking out
Juan González and
Ellis Burks, then inducing
Jim Thome to ground out to second on a full count. In the bottom of the inning,
Ichiro Suzuki beat out his second leadoff infield hit to shortstop, and
Stan Javier bunted him over again.
Ricardo Rincón was relieved by
Danys Baez, who struck out Boone. With two outs, Martínez's line drive single to left center scored Suzuki from second and put the Mariners up 3–1. Olerud lashed a single to right, and
Al Martin pinch ran for Martínez at second, but Cameron lined out to center. In the eighth, Fryman was caught looking on full count, Cordova fanned on a check swing, then Díaz laced a single up the middle on full count. Lefthander
Arthur Rhodes replaced Nelson and Lofton flew out to center field, near the warning track. In the bottom half, Baez struck out the side (Wilson, Bell, McLemore). Seattle closer
Kazuhiro Sasaki retired Cleveland in order in the ninth for the save: Vizquel grounded out to first, Alomar struck out swinging, and González grounded to third to end the series. For the Indians, it marked the third time in six seasons they had lost the ALDS, following defeats in
1996 and
1999. After their offensive outburst of 17 runs in the third game, they managed only three runs and nine hits over the last two games. A perennial playoff team throughout the late 1990s, Cleveland did not return to the postseason until
2007. This was the Mariners' most recent playoff series win until
2022, and was their last home playoff victory until Game 2 of the
2025 ALDS.
Composite box 2001 ALDS
(3–2): Seattle Mariners over
Cleveland Indians ==New York vs. Oakland==